Geoff Gillingham explains why he can envisage the Turkish side making the EuroCup Finals
Why Bahcesehir can win Game 3
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Home-court advantage, baby. There's a reason why topping the group mattered so much during the regular season, and Bahcesehir College Istanbul is about to reap the full rewards.
In a decisive Game 3, a game that determines whether Bahcesehir's European journey continues or comes to an end, it's the little things that count: the players sleeping in their own bed; a familiar routine at the arena; knowing the best spots on the floor to get shots up; and being able to receive the support of the home crowd.
No team in the BKT EuroCup has enjoyed playing at home as much as Bahcesehir. The Turkish team is 11-0 at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall this season and it has already beaten Dreamland Gran Canaria twice there – once in the regular season and then in Game 1. It's only natural that it extends that run to 12-0 (and 3-0 versus Gran Canaria) on Wednesday night.
It will be a battle, though. Bahcesehir ranks first in team defense (74.3 PPG) and Gran Canaria is second (76.2 PPG), so defense will be the name of the game. Still, it has plenty of talented players who can make their mark on the offensive end of the floor, with big man Marko Simonovic averaging a team-high 15.0 PPG in the series so far.
Plenty of the Bahcesehir players who had off nights in Game 2 will be able to rely on home comforts this time around. Jaleen Smith, Sehmus Hazer, Simonovic, Tai Odiase, Tyler Cavanaugh and Axel Bouteille all scored fewer points in Game 2 than they did in Game 1, but one positive for coach Dejan Radonjic was that Mateusz Ponitka and Furkan Korkmaz did the opposite. The hope will be that they do even better back in Istanbul, as their experience and talent will be needed in Game 3.
Even then, Gran Canaria needed a miracle three-point play by Caleb Homesley to even be in this position. Otherwise, we would have been talking about a sweep. All four games between these two clubs this season have been won by the home team, which puts the wind in the hosts' favor in this one.
Bahcesehir is just one win away from a EuroCup Finals matchup against either Valencia Basket or Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv. Heading into Game 3, it just needs to stay calm and keep doing what it has been doing all season, then the result it wants will almost certainly arrive.